"Don't worry, Princess, I'll fix this – no need to use the elements – I just need a little more [i]time![/i]" Discord couldn't help but laugh at his own joke, forgetting temporarily the imminent danger of incarceration as he clicked his fingers to produce an array of colorful stopwatches, which promptly fell to the ground around him and broke into metal pieces on the floor. Twilight stared at him in total confusion. "I… what?" It had been, until a few seconds ago, a perfectly ordinary evening in Ponyville. Luna's moon glowed through the window of the castle as Twilight began to head upstairs to get ready for bed. She had been planning to end the day with a little bedtime reading and possibly a mug of warm cocoa, if Spike wasn't too busy to make one. Discord's unexpected appearance brought with it a definite sense that something was wrong. Very wrong. "Ah! Twilight! The very pony I've been trying to avoid – by which I mean, bump into. It's Thursday evening, is it?" Discord asked, examining a series of complex calculations on a long scroll he'd just conjured into his mismatched hands. "Discord, what are you talking about?" Twilight asked, frowning. "Of course it's Thursday evening." "Ah, so I'm back at the beginning of this little conundrum… I see. Well, Twilight, I'm in a spot of bother: I am currently evading capture by a raving alicorn who is [i]intent[/i] on turning my sorry draconequus hide into solid stone. All the result of a misunderstanding, of course. I believe your excellent negotiation skills could easily result in a gracious pardon for team Discord!" Twilight found herself dressed in a mascot costume crudely resembling the draconequus she was talking to. Rolling her eyes, she responded. "If Celestia has an issue with your behavior, I'm sure there's a reasonable justification behind it," she pointed out. "Oh, it's not Celestia who's on my tail," Discord assured her with a grin. A tiny Celestia doll appeared on the end of his dragon tail. "Is it Luna, then? [i]Cadance?[/i]" Twilight grew increasingly confused. "Nope." The Celestia doll became Luna, then Cadance, then a question mark. "Well who the hay else could it be?" Twilight cried out in frustration. Her eyes widened as a tiny alicorn doll of herself appeared in the question mark's place. "I'm out of my depth, to tell the truth," he admitted. "Maybe you should come outside and take a look!" The sun shone brightly as the pair left the castle as if it were daytime, but on the ground some areas remained in darkness. Oddly enough, some of the leaves on the trees were brown as if it were fall, while other leaves hung in mid air with no branches to support them. Squinting towards the town square in Ponyville, Twilight could just make out a vast array of figures, seemingly gathered for an important event. "I think we'd best avoid going there for now," Discord whispered suddenly in her ear. "What in Celestia's name is going on? What have you done?" Twilight asked in horror. "It's a long story. Although if we're quick enough, or possibly slow enough, we might be able to watch the beginning again." Discord teleported himself and Twilight to just outside Fluttershy's cottage. It was early evening once again, and they were stood in the bushes beneath the window. "What- mmrgrmph!" Twilight was interrupted in her questioning by a zip which had abruptly forced her mouth closed. "Pay attention, princess," Discord whispered, pointing into the cottage. Twilight's eyes bulged wide at what she saw. Inside, Discord was sat with Fluttershy. The two were having a tea party, with cucumber sandwiches and what looked like cups of tea. Angel was sulking in the corner, as was his habit when Discord came for a visit, and Fluttershy was wearing a butterfly necklace that seemed be a gift from her guest. Twilight could just about hear their conversation, though she couldn't wrap her head around the fact that the same draconequus was sat with her in the bushes and talking to Fluttershy in the cottage. Moving as quietly as she could without rustling the bushes, Twilight unzipped her mouth. "How are you [i]here[/i] and [i]there[/i] at the same time?" she whispered. "And don't zip my mouth up again!" Discord, who had been raising his hand, dropped it again disappointedly. "...I wish we could have more time together." Fluttershy's voice drifted out of the open window. "But I have to go visit Sir Nutsy Squirrelkins, and he gets ever so upset when I'm late!" Twilight and the Discord sat in the bushes looked up to focus on the conversation. "If only, Fluttershy, my dear! It seems cruel Father Time is determined to separate us." The other Discord clicked his fingers and grew a large, grey beard. An hourglass appeared in his hands, and Fluttershy giggled a little at his comical appearance. Discord himself, watching from a distance, couldn't help but grin. Twilight cringed. "Hmm… what if I was to create extra time?" the other Discord asked his pegasus friend. Fluttershy tilted her head in confusion. "Extra time?" she repeated. "Or better still, dispense of time altogether! Old Father Time has had his day. I think it's about [i]time[/i] he closed for business, don't you agree my dear?" "I-I'm not so sure," Fluttershy stuttered. "It seems like a bad idea…" "It would make things much easier for everypony, I'm sure: no more waiting for crops to grow, no more arriving late to parties… the possibilities are infinite!" "I think you should speak to Twilight about it," Fluttershy told Discord firmly. "Twilight Shmilight, let's give it a shot." He clicked his fingers at the same time as the Discord sat with Twilight in the bushes. Blinking, she found herself sat back in the castle in the early light of morning. "Of all the stupid things you've done, Discord, this is the [i]stupidest![/i]" Twilight yelled. "What will Celestia say when she realizes [i]time has been destroyed?![/i]" "I'll admit it was an error of judgement," Discord responded, "but all is not lost [i]quite[/i] yet. You see, I failed. I didn't completely destroy it – it seems old Father Time has beaten me on this occasion – but I did manage to thoroughly jumble it. Also, I don't think the effects have spread beyond Ponyville, so you don't have to worry about Tia's wrath. All we need to do now is fix it and Ponyville will return to its boring – I mean, peaceful – existence." "Okay, so how do we fix it?" Twilight asked cautiously. "Ah. Well, that's the problem. I'm not entirely sure, to tell the truth." "How can you not be sure?" Panicking, Twilight ran to the castle library, with a slightly amused-looking Discord following suit. "There must be a book here somewhere on how to deal with time disruption." "Oh, and one more thing," Discord added. "What?" Twilight asked exasperatedly, as she desperately rummaged through the books. "There may just be a [i]slightly[/i] deranged alternate future Twilight Sparkle on the rampage… Nothing you can't deal with, I'm sure." Twilight hesitated for a second, then went back to work. For now, the time malfunctions would have to be her priority. The sooner this mess was sorted, the better. [hr] Fluttershy watched in horror from the edge of Ponyville town square at the events unfolding before her. The pony citizens were gathered to witness what seemed to be the incarceration of Discord by the six element bearers – only she couldn't understand how they were apprehending him without her assistance, or why. Attempting to fly up into the air for a better view, and squinting over the crowd, she stared on in disbelief as a rainbow rose up into the air and crashed down onto her draconequus friend, who began to change state to solid stone. Tears sprung up into Fluttershy's eyes and she started running back to her cottage, her mind full of confusion. She noticed that the further she moved the darker the day seemed to become. When she arrived it was early evening. At which point she stopped dead in her tracks. Discord and Twilight were sat in the bushes under her window. Fluttershy struggled to formulate a coherent response, managing only a squeak of shock. Twilight didn't notice – her eyes were transfixed on something in the cottage – but Discord responded, his eyes glancing over to where Fluttershy stood. Comprehension dawned and he drew a finger up to his lips. A letter appeared in front of her daubed with a multicolored message. [quote]Go to the castle.[/quote] He looked away again and Fluttershy simply stood on the spot. After a few seconds she glanced back at the letter. She heard Discord's voice in her mind and decided, against her better judgement, to follow his instructions. "Discord!" Fluttershy cried in relief when she reached the castle, pulling her friend into a hug. Twilight, stood behind him, raised her eyebrows. "I thought you'd been turned to stone," Fluttershy confessed. "And why would you think that?" Discord asked with amusement, clicking his fingers and turning his feet into solid blocks of rock. "I-I… I just saw it happen," she replied tearfully. "Wait, what?" Twilight interjected. "Ah. That doesn't bode well. Better start preparing for centuries of boredom." Discord began bouncing a ball off the wall and back. "I don't understand… So did Fluttershy see the future? Something that hasn't happened yet? Or an alternate timeline? None of this makes any sense!" Twilight cried in frustration, grinding her teeth. Spike, wandering into the room with a freshly-made breakfast of waffles, groaned. "My head aches. I'm sure I've made this same meal for twenty different Twilights." "I'm sure this will all be fine," Fluttershy soothed. "Discord can fix it, and then we'll all go back to normal." She glanced up at her draconequus friend proudly, who responded with a sheepish grin. "Yes, well, ah, we're working on it," he muttered. The room seemed to be growing darker, as if night was falling. The wind outside was whistling loudly, and what seemed to be flakes of snow were building up on one of the windows. "Aha!" Twilight cried, flicking open the book in front of her. "I think I have an idea." "Discord, are you ready?" "I [i]think[/i] so. How can I make myself as credible as possible, so that my past self will believe my grievous warning?" the draconequus wondered aloud, before clicking his fingers and creating a ridiculous outfit ensemble of a monocle, clown shoes and lime green dungarees. "Much better," he commented with amusement. Twilight rolled her eyes. "So, let's run over this one more time. I'll cast this spell to send you back in time to [i]before[/i] any of this mess started. I'm not sure whether it will work, what with all of the time distortion you caused, but if it does – and I'm [i]really[/i] hoping it does – then you can convince your past self that when he goes to see Fluttershy he should not [i]under any circumstances[/i] decide to mess with time. All clear?" Discord nodded, and his monocle fell off. "Ok. Everypony quiet while I concentrate," Twilight ordered. Fluttershy and Discord fell silent. Spike, who had just entered the room with a tray of breakfast waffles, scratched his head in confusion. The quiet atmosphere in the room began to be disturbed as Discord became increasingly aware of the sounds of footsteps approaching the castle. "Don't suppose you could speed up the spell?" Discord whispered. "I have a feeling there's an angry mob coming our way." The sounds became louder. "I'm trying," Twilight muttered. "Oh no! What if they try and turn Discord to stone?" Fluttershy gasped, glancing fearfully towards the door. "I don't know why they're so angry anyway. I only injected a little fun into their lives," Discord commented, drumming his fingers on the floor. The door crashed open and Twilight entered, along with Fluttershy and the other element bearers. The two blanched at the sight of themselves and halted temporarily, but upon spotting Discord the other Twilight stepped forward. "I'm sorry, Discord, but enough's enough! The people of Ponyville have spoken, and we have no choice but to use the elements." "The people of Ponyville?" Fluttershy repeated. "But it was all a misunderstanding, and he's trying his best to fix it! You just need to give him a chance." The other Fluttershy glanced hopefully at the other Twilight. "I'm sorry, Fluttershy. But such acts of disobedience cannot be ignored. Discord must be stopped like [i]the monster he is![/i]" Her voice grew to an enraged cry. "I warned you she was crazy," Discord said with a yawn. "For Celestia!" the deranged Twilight cried. A huge purple flash engulfed the room. Discord opened his eyes and found himself in Ponyville. It was early evening, with the sun beginning to set and the birds singing their final tunes for the day. Nothing seemed out of place. "Huh. Good job with the spell, Princess," Discord complimented. After a minute or two he spotted himself walking towards Fluttershy's cottage. "[i]Time[/i] to solve all this." Laughing to himself, he stepped forward. [hr] "Thanks for the help! It's great to be a free man again." Twilight jumped and stared up in confusion. "I… what?" It had been, until a few seconds ago, a perfectly ordinary evening in Ponyville. Luna's moon glowed through the window of the castle as Twilight began to head upstairs to get ready for bed. She was planning to end the day with a little bedtime reading and possibly a mug of warm cocoa, though she hadn't been prepared for an unexpected visit from Discord. "You know, after everything that happened, I was thinking. All the time mumbo jumbo was a real bonding experience. We could be good friends, you and I…" Twilight stared at him blankly. "…If we only spent more [i]time[/i] together!" Laughing at his own joke, Discord teleported away with a flash. Twilight stood on the spot, frozen. After a long pause she sighed, shrugged and headed to bed.